Folly
by Wings of an Era
Summary: The Master contemplates what he has learned of Rose Tyler and the effect she has had on his enemy. Takes place during The Year That Never Was. One Shot.


Disclaimer; I do not own Doctor Who

Takes place before and during 'The Year That Never Was'.

**Folly

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When the Master had first heard of Rose Tyler he had thought her merely another of the Doctor's idiotic companions, of no more concern than a pet really. And when he dug into her background and put together her life story it was more to discover the Doctor's doings than out of any real interest in her.

But the more he found, the more Rose Tyler peaked his interest.

From what he could discover of the Doctor's 9th Regeneration, the man had become jaded and cynical, almost to the point of giving up on the human race completely. The Doctor had become tired of living itself, and that fact alone was enough to disturb the Master. It was one thing for the Master to bring about the end of _his_ Doctor, and another entirely for the Doctor to die alone in obscurity.

And then along came Rose Tyler. The child who had single handedly changed all that. She had seen the Doctor at his worst, and brought him out of it, restoring the Doctor's faith in humanity in the process. If that wasn't enough of a feat, she had also healed the Doctor of his self-loathing at his part in the death of his race.

The Master became obsessed with Rose Tyler. In the months before the election, while the Doctor was off travelling with Martha Jones, the Master frantically searched for any and all information he could find on the elusive Rose.

He interviewed friends and family (all who thought Rose dead, if he hadn't seen the footage from Torchwood he would have thought so too). He sought out anything and everything he could about the girl.

And then he came across a clip from an outdoor security camera of Rose and two others (unimportant people, he couldn't even be bothered to remember who they were) prying open the heart of the TARDIS.

Rose Tyler had looked into the heart of the TARDIS and **survived**.

It shouldn't be possible, even with the Doctor's help, Rose should have been torn apart, each individual atom scattered. Not even a Time Lord could survive such a thing (as the Doctor had demonstrated). But not only had Rose lived, she had directed the time vortex, creating an immortal Jack Harkness and destroying the Doctor's enemies. (Something not even the Master could have accomplished if he had been so inclined.)

The new Regeneration this event had produced in his enemy had startled the Master. A Time Lord's new physical form and personality were largely dependent on what the old one was feeling at the time of death. The new Doctor was almost… happy. His physical appearance now was more youthful and vibrant. His personality more suited to comfort, appease, and entertain.

It wasn't lost on the Master that the Doctor's new life seemed to be made solely around being the best companion for Rose.

So when the time to spring his trap finally came and the Master had the Doctor in his clutches, he could hardly be blamed if he was less thorough than he should have been in pursuing Martha Jones. After all, she was of no consequence when the Master was so eager to question the Doctor about Rose.

It was just as the Master had guessed, the Doctor was undeniably in love with Rose Tyler.

But when the Master taunted and questioned the Doctor about Rose, his enemy did not react as the Master had expected. Rather than despair about his inability to reach her, the mere mention of her name seemed to give the Doctor courage. A burning would come to his eyes, the like of which the Master had never seen.

Instead of breaking him, the thought of her gave him strength, motivation. Even when the Master rubbed in the fact that the Doctor would never see her again, all it seemed to do was encourage the Doctor's rebellion. It was as if the Doctor's whole reason for being was wrapped up in Rose Tyler, whether he saw her again or not.

This both confused and infuriated the Master.

He began to covet these feelings Rose gave the Doctor, even as he loathed them. Feelings he couldn't touch or take. It was one aspect of the Doctor's life the Master was unable to intrude upon.

The Doctor had finally found something he cherished more than anything ever before, and the Master couldn't even take advantage of it.

Even though she wasn't physically present, Rose Tyler had undermined the Master's final victory. Without ever meeting him in person she haunted him, making his triumph empty.

The Master found he both hated and adored her for this, as he only had hated and adored the Doctor before.

The Master soon learned to stop saying her name, stopped mentioning her at all after nearly a year with the Doctor as his prisoner, instead devoting his time to tracking down Martha Jones.

But he could not forget Rose Tyler; he even began subconsciously comparing his wife to Rose. And where before he had always been pleased with his wife, after seeing the depth of the Doctor's feelings for Rose, he now found the woman wanting.

So he struck his wife, wishing he was striking Rose.

He hated knowing, that while before he had been the center (in a negative sense) of the Doctor's universe, Rose had completely and utterly replaced him.

The Master knew, even if he were to kill the Doctor, he still would not have the victory he had imagined for centuries.

All because one little human girl had taken the Doctor's heart, and the Master could not crush it.

-Owari


End file.
